Tinea Capitis

FRIDAY, Nov. 15, 2024 -- The burden of superficial cutaneous fungal infections (SCFIs) among outpatient visits in the United States is high and increasing, according to a study published online Oct. 30 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology . Sarah L. Spaulding, from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues characterized trends in the prevalence of SCFIs from 2005 to 2016 by analyzing ambulatory visits in the United States using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. The researchers found that from 2005 to 2016, there was an estimated average of 6,001,852 annual visits for SCFIs in the United States, with 72,022,226 visits during the study period. Of this total, 20.5, 12.2, 12.0, 6.7, and 6.0 percent were tinea unguium, tinea pedis, tinea corporis, tinea cruris, and tinea capitis, respectively. An estimated average of 1,104,258,333 annual ambulatory visits occurred in the United States from 2005 to 2016, with more than 13 billion visits overall; of all visits, SCFIs generally accounted for 0.54 percent. A significantly increasing trend in annual SCFIs was observed. "These findings highlight the importance of health care providers being able to identify, treat, and, when necessary, refer patients with SCFIs, as a high burden of disease is associated with a significant negative impact on the individual and population levels," the authors write. Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

A study published in Nature demonstrated that implanted electrodes could provide a potential therapy for chronic brain injuries. Led by Dr. Nicholas Schiff, the study looked at five people with moderate to severe brain injuries. They received electrode implants in the brain and, with stimulation from the electrodes, saw improvements in cognitive performance. Researchers told The New York Times that, should the positive results continue, the implants could become the first effective therapy for chronic brain injuries. According to The New York Times, the researchers targeted the central lateral nucleus of the brain to achieve these results. They found that stimulating this area of the brain could help patients regain focus and attention. The researchers gave volunteers tests to judge their ability to focus and switch tasks, according to the report. Before surgery, the volunteers each received a scan of their brain, establishing a map to guide the electrode to the central lateral nucleus. Dr. Jaimie Henderson of Stanford University conducted the implants. The study originally had six volunteers but one withdrew with a scalp infection. Starting one month post-procedure, the five volunteers took follow-up tests. Their scores improved from between 15% and 52% compared to pre-procedure, according to The New York Times. Dr. Joseph Fins, a medical ethicist at Weill Cornell Medicine, interviewed the volunteers and family members, too. Most reportedly said the implant “made them more like their former selves.” One volunteer — the one with the largest cognitive improvement based on the tests — said he didn’t think the procedure hurt, however, he didn’t know “if it helped much.” However, that subject’s son observed significant changes in his father, according to the report. The team has plans for a larger study of the brain implants and could look to target other areas of the brain as well.

WEDNESDAY, July 12, 2023 -- Confirmatory laboratory testing is only used in one in five cases of suspected tinea capitis (TC), according to a research letter published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology . Jeremy A.W. Gold, M.D., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues calculated TC incidence and described testing and treatment practices for 3.9 million commercially insured U.S. children identified from the Merative MarketScan Commercial Database (July 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2020). The researchers found that the one-year TC incidence was 16.3 per 10,000 person-years, with incidence highest among 5-year-olds (31.6 per 10,000 person-years), boys (20.9), and Southern residents (22.5). Pediatricians made the most diagnoses (54.6 percent), followed by dermatologists (11.7 percent) and family practitioners (10.4 percent). Clinicians infrequently used confirmatory testing (21.9 percent). When used, the most common tests were fungal culture (17.8 percent) and direct microscopy (9.7 percent). Testing was significantly more common for diagnoses by dermatologists (51.0 percent) versus pediatricians (16.4 percent) or family practitioners (11.0 percent). Three-quarters of patients were prescribed an antifungal (61.2 percent an oral antifungal and 14.7 percent a topical antifungal therapy). "Most patients diagnosed with TC received no confirmatory laboratory testing, which is concerning because visual inspection alone of suspected cutaneous fungal infections can lead to diagnostic errors and unnecessary antifungal use," the authors write. Abstract/Full Text Posted July 2023